Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-11-25

It was saddening to turn from the cripple
to the others. Many of them were equally
gifted intellectually, yet they had never at
tanned his contentment with his lot
A man in rough jacket, with a careless
air, which was contradicted by his face, said:
"Well, fancy have had wider experience
than any of you, if change of employment
gives experience. There are few things l
have not tried, but never succeeded in any.
l have been an errand boy, a pillow boy,
peddler, a miner, an engineer and an express
man. | have written dismal trash to sell to
vilely cheap and mean papers. have taught
grown men to read in exchange for a crust
of bread. 1 have distributed advertisements
at street corners; and now l am just where
was when started l have no home. left
my last boarding place without paying, but
left my only good coat behind instead. I
slept last night in car depot, and picked up
a few cigar ends to keep the hunger off this
morning. would take any job; but people
don't seem to want jobs done just now. They
look at me suspiciousy and say: There's
lots of work if you only bestir yourself and
look for it."
you and I are much alike" said man
opposite II have looked for work both in
and out of my profession. am a musician,
young and unknown. have heard you all
talk of being poor, but when a man loses
many a possible good chance in his business
through the want of postage stamp at the
right time, tell you he knows something Of
poverty, though he may have good coat on
his back. In o,r profession poverty is mat
ter of course. We may be even famous and
starve. Meanwhile I am obliged to keep up
appearances and live in decent house."
Yes" said a woman near him, land I dare
say not your own house. Well, if poor
boarders have their troubles, don't think
that the boarding house keeper sleeps on a
bed of roses. There is a hopeless side to pow
erty, and contented side, and an expectant
side. But know of another 1t is the ludi-
crous side My husband died in debt There
was only the weary old way to support my
self. l opened boarding house.
wish ladies could go lower down to
make money. l had not the strength
of mind to do differently from others
of my set and 1 think with us women
that is one of the great causes of our
troubles. We don't dare to face the worlds
talk, even when there is nothing to be
ashamed Of had hard time with inefli-
Gent servants, for did not thrive and could
not pay high enough prices to secure good ones.
But sent for two of my nieces, as poor as my
self, and together we did the work and shared
the profits Let me say to you that if you
are poor and have tolerable health, do your
own work. By that means we got on and
had order and cleanliness, and though life is
not exactly delightful to us, it is tolerable.
'As to the ludicrous side of poverty. We
see enough of it, So many little shifts and
pretenses, though they are pathetic enough
sometimes. began by asking rather high
prices, and if they were refused, let the
rooms stay empty. But my purse began to get
7
Sometimes did not like mans manner or
a woman's costume, and l was stiff, which
lost me considerable money. Then again,
some mems business was not to my taste,
though they were very silent and unobtrusve
themselves. lost many good boarder the
first year by standing too much on
my dignity If dancing master
generally teaches department to his
pupils, l think some one should
teach bankers daughter, in view Of certain
possibilities how to attract and deal pleas
antly with boarders. If it were not good
thing to be merry under the worst crcum-
stances, should not detain you so long with
my experiences; but if we persistently ignore
the humor that is concealed in almost every
stage of poverty, we are making ourselves
more miserable than God intended us to be- :"
Then she went on to enumerate the ludcrous
her to day by day.
IF money troubles were everything" said
moody man, "you would all be quarreling
who was the worst Off among you. You
might be rich in money, and yet broken and
worthless"
My host whispered to me that this man
had lost his faith in woman. Then he
pointed out pale woman in good but not
Snowy clothing, who was yet more wretched
than the poorest at the feast. Her husband
cared nothing for her. She was dying of a
broken heart, Just opposite her were man
and woman whom no recital seemed to
affect. Their only child had been suddenly
killed few weeks before.
My friend pointed out a man at the bottom
Of the table. He had an uneasy eye and q
, restless conscience. / asked what this man
, had done.
"Set traps for the feet Of Others" said my
host. "In old times legends say, men sold
their own souls. He has sold those of Others
, Anciently, to trample on the Cross was the
, worst sacrilege a man could commit; but
he has trampled beneath his feet the very
, image Of God. Such as he are called men
, about town. need not tell you more"
Near him sat a woman with faded shawl,
, a soiled and rakish bonnet, brazen face and
dirty hands. No teaching, no help, no good
!, example, no chance of good had ever come to
: her. And there was a woman in Partisan
dinner dress who sat between two men Of the
> homeless kind in upper life-the lay figures
of society. She was more hopeless looking
, than her neighbors. She had no work No
| object save pleasure ever stirred her.
Then my host told me in low tones, while
, the others were talking among themselves,
t how he had gathered these peo.,, together
| for this extraordinary Tina, sgiying feast.
, Some he had met by accident. Others he
| hunted up, going into dismal places to find
, them. The most despairing were the ones he
? chose. He said:
"To some l sent formal invitations by post.
knew it would please them The invitation
/ itself, put in language they had not known
, for years, would be more of blessing than
| the mere feast to which they were hidden.
| The moral pleasure given, or the self respect
induced by these invitations, is more than